Data processing systems and methods for auditing data request compliance

ABSTRACT

A privacy management system that is configured to process one or more data subject access requests and further configured to: (1) enable a data protection officer to submit an audit request; (2) perform an audit based on one or more parameters provided as part of the request (e.g., one or more parameters such as how long an average request takes to fulfill, one or more parameters related to logging and/or tracking data subject access requests and/or complaints from one or more particular customer advocacy groups, individuals, NGOs, etc.); and (3) provide one or more audit results to the officer (e.g., by displaying the results on a suitable display screen).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/059,911, filed Aug. 9, 2018, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/055,083, filed Aug. 4, 2018, Ser.No. 16/055,961, filed Aug. 6, 2018, Ser. No. 16/054,672, filed Aug. 3,2018, Ser. No. 16/055,984, filed Aug. 6, 2018, Ser. No. 16/055,944,filed Aug. 6, 2018, Ser. No. 16/054,762, filed Aug. 3, 2018, Ser. No.16/054,780, filed Aug. 3, 2018, Ser. No. 16/055,998, filed Aug. 6, 2018,all of which claim priority from U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/547,530, filed Aug. 18, 2017, and are alsocontinuations-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/996,208,filed Jun. 1, 2018, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/537,839 filed Jul. 27, 2017, and is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/853,674,filed Dec. 22, 2017, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/541,613, filed Aug. 4, 2017, and is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/619,455,filed Jun. 10, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.15/254,901, filed Sep. 1, 2016; which claims priority from: (1) U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/360,123, filed Jul. 8, 2016;(2) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/353,802, filed Jun.23, 2016; (3) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/348,695,filed Jun. 10, 2016. The disclosures of all of the above patentapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Over the past years, privacy and security policies, and relatedoperations have become increasingly important. Breaches in security,leading to the unauthorized access of personal data (which may includesensitive personal data) have become more frequent among companies andother organizations of all sizes. Such personal data may include, but isnot limited to, personally identifiable information (PII), which may beinformation that directly (or indirectly) identifies an individual orentity. Examples of PII include names, addresses, dates of birth, socialsecurity numbers, and biometric identifiers such as a person'sfingerprints or picture. Other personal data may include, for example,customers' Internet browsing habits, purchase history, and even theirpreferences (e.g., likes and dislikes, as provided or obtained throughsocial media).

Many organizations that obtain, use, and transfer personal data,including sensitive personal data, have begun to address these privacyand security issues. To manage personal data, many companies haveattempted to implement operational policies and processes that complywith legal and organizations, or other entities) with certain rightsrelated to the data subject's personal data that is collected, stored,or otherwise processed by an organization. These rights may include, forexample, a right to obtain confirmation of whether a particularorganization is processing their personal data, a right to obtaininformation about the purpose of the processing (e.g., one or morereasons for which the personal data was collected), and other suchrights. Some regulations require organizations to comply with requestsfor such information (e.g., Data Subject Access Requests) withinrelatively short periods of time (e.g., 30 days).

Existing systems for complying with such requests can be inadequate forproducing and providing the required information within the requiredtimelines. This is especially the case for large corporations, which maystore data on several different platforms in differing locations.Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods forcomplying with data subject access requests.

SUMMARY

A privacy management computer system for auditing one or more responsesto one or more data subject access requests received by a particularentity, according to particular embodiments: (1) one or more computerprocessors; and (2) computer memory operatively coupled to the one ormore processors. In any embodiment described herein, the one or moreprocesses are adapted for: (1) receiving a plurality of data subjectaccess requests via a plurality of webforms on respective computingdevices from a plurality of data subject access requestors; (2)automatically determining a type of each data subject access request,the determined type of data subject access request being selected from agroup consisting of: (a) a request to delete personal data of therequestor that is being stored by a particular organization; (b) arequest to provide, to the requestor, personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; (c) a request toupdate personal data of the requestor that is being stored by theparticular organization; and (d) a request to opt out of having theparticular organization use the requestor's personal information in oneor more particular ways; (3) determining, based at least partially onthe determined type of each data subject access request, a workflow thatis to be used to process each request; (4) facilitating the processingof each of the plurality of data subject access requests via theworkflow; (5) providing a data subject access request compliance portal;(6) receiving an audit request, via the data subject access requestcompliance portal, to audit compliance, by the particular entity withone or more data subject access request requirements, the audit requestcomprising one or more request parameters; (7) perform the audit basedon the one or more request parameters; (8) generate a report of one ormore results of the audit; and (9) provide the report to a privacyofficer associated with the particular entity.

A privacy management computer system for receiving and facilitating theprocessing of data subject access requests, in particular embodiments,comprises one or more computer processors and computer memoryoperatively coupled to the one or more processors. In particularembodiments, the system is adapted for: (1) displaying a webform on acomputer display, the webform being adapted to receive data subjectaccess requests for processing; (2) receiving, via the webform, a datasubject access request from a data subject access requestor; (3)automatically determining a type of the data subject access request, thedetermined type of data subject access request being selected from agroup consisting of: (A) a request to delete personal data of therequestor that is being stored by a particular organization; (B) arequest to provide, to the requestor, personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; (C) a request toupdate personal data of the requestor that is being stored by theparticular organization; and (D) a request to opt out of having theparticular organization use the requestor's personal information in oneor more particular ways; (4) automatically determining, based at leastpartially on the determined type of data subject access request, anauthentication methodology that is to be used to verify the requestor'sidentity before the system facilitates completion of the data subjectaccess request; (5) using the determined type of authenticationmethodology to verify the requestor's identity; and (6) at leastpartially in response to verifying the requestor's identity via thedetermined type of authentication methodology, executing at least oneprocessing step to advance the completion of the data subject accessrequest.

A privacy management computer system for receiving and facilitating theprocessing of data subject access requests, in various embodiments,comprises one or more computer processors and computer memoryoperatively coupled to the one or more processors. In particularembodiments, the system is adapted for: (1) displaying a webform on acomputer display, the webform being adapted to receive data subjectaccess requests for processing; (2) receiving, via the webform, a datasubject access request from a data subject access requestor; (3)automatically determining a type of the data subject access request, thedetermined type of data subject access request being selected from agroup consisting of: (A) a request to delete personal data of therequestor that is being stored by a particular organization; (B) arequest to provide, to the requestor, personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; (C) a request toupdate personal data of the requestor that is being stored by theparticular organization; and (D) a request to opt out of having theparticular organization use the requestor's personal information in oneor more particular ways; and (4) determining, based at least partiallyon the determined type of data subject access request, a workflow thatis to be used to process the request; and (5) facilitating theprocessing of the request via the workflow.

A computer-implemented method, according to particular embodiments, forreceiving and facilitating the processing of data subject accessrequests, comprises: (1) receiving, by at least one computer processor,a data subject access request from a data subject access requestor; (2)automatically determining, by at least one computer processor, a type ofthe data subject access request, the determined type of data subjectaccess request being selected from a group consisting of: (A) a requestto delete personal data of the requestor that is being stored by aparticular organization; (B) a request to provide, to the requestor,personal data of the requestor that is being stored by the particularorganization; (C) a request to update personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; and (D) a requestto opt out of having the particular organization use the requestor'spersonal information in one or more particular ways; (3) determining, byat least one processor, based at least partially on the determined typeof data subject access request, a workflow that is to be used to processthe request; and (4) after determining the workflow, facilitating, by atleast one processor, the processing of the request via thecomputer-implemented workflow.

In various embodiments, the system may determine one or more systemworkflows based, at least in part, on one or more other factors, suchas: (1) the state, country and/or territory of residence of the datasubject for which the DSAR is being requested (e.g., the DSARrequestor); (2) the current location of the data subject (e.g., state,country, and/or territory); (3) whether or not the data subject is anonline customer of the particular organization (a customer with anonline account with the particular organization) to which they aresubmitting the DSAR; and/or (4) an estimated time (e.g., that may bedetermined by the system in any suitable way) that it will take tocomplete the DSAR. It should be understood, in light of this disclosure,that the system may determine the one or more system workflows forprocessing a particular DSAR based, at least in part, on any one of theabove-listed factors (and/or other suitable factors discussed herein)and/or the type of the DSAR request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of a data subject access request fulfillment systemare described below. In the course of this description, reference willbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a data subject request processing and fulfillment systemaccording to particular embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a computer (such as the DSARProcessing and Fulfillment Server 170, or Data Model Population Server120 of FIG. 1) that is suitable for use in various embodiments of thedata subject access request processing system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B is a flow chart depicting exemplary steps executed by a DataSubject Access Request Routing Module according to a particularembodiment.

FIGS. 3-43 are computer screen shots that demonstrate the operation ofvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 44-49 depict various exemplary screen displays and user interfacesthat a user of various embodiments of the system may encounter (FIGS. 47and 48 collectively show four different views of a Data Subject RequestQueue).

FIG. 50 is a flow chart depicting exemplary steps executed by a DataSubject Access Request Compliance Module according to particularembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Overview

Ticket management systems, according to various embodiments, are adaptedto receive data subject access requests (DSAR's) from particular datasubjects, and to facilitate the timely processing of valid DSAR's by anappropriate respondent. In particular embodiments, the ticket managementsystem receives DSAR's via one or more webforms that each may, forexample, respectively be accessed via an appropriate link/button on arespective web page. In other embodiments, the system may receive DSAR'sthrough any other suitable mechanism, such as via a computer softwareapplication (e.g., a messaging application such as Slack, Twitter), viaa chat bot, via generic API input from another system, or through entryby a representative who may receive the information, for example, viasuitable paper forms or over the phone.

The ticket management system may include a webform creation tool that isadapted to allow a user to create customized webforms for receivingDSAR's from various different data subject types and for routing therequests to appropriate individuals for processing. The webform creationtool may, for example, allow the user to specify the language that theform will be displayed in, what particular information is to berequested from the data subject and/or provided by the data subject, whoany DSAR's that are received via the webform will be routed to, etc. Inparticular embodiments, after the user completes their design of thewebform, the webform creation tool generates code for the webform thatmay be cut and then pasted into a particular web page.

The system may be further adapted to facilitate processing of DSAR'sthat are received via the webforms, or any other suitable mechanism. Forexample, the ticket management system may be adapted to execute one ormore of the following steps for each particular DSAR received via thewebforms (or other suitable mechanism) described above: (1) beforeprocessing the DSAR, confirm that the DSAR was actually submitted by theparticular data subject of the DSAR (or, for example, by an individualauthorized to make the DSAR on the data subject's behalf, such as aparent, guardian, power-of-attorney holder, etc.)—any suitable methodmay be used to confirm the identity of the entity/individual submittingthe DSAR—for example, if the system receives the DSAR via a third-partycomputer system, the system may validate authentication via API secret,or by requiring a copy of one or more particular legal documents (e.g.,a particular contract between two particular entities)—the system mayvalidate the identity of an individual by, for example, requiring theindividual (e.g., data subject) to provide particular accountcredentials, by requiring the individual to provide particularout-of-wallet information, through biometric scanning of the individual(e.g., finger or retinal scan), or via any other suitable identityverification technique; (2) if the DSAR was not submitted by theparticular data subject, deny the request; (3) if the DSAR was submittedby the particular data subject, advance the processing of the DSAR; (4)route the DSAR to the correct individual(s) or groups internally forhandling; (5) facilitate the assignment of the DSAR to one or more otherindividuals for handling of one or more portions of the DSAR; (6)facilitate the suspension of processing of the data subject's data bythe organization; and/or (7) change the policy according to which thedata subject's personal data is retained and/or processed by the system.In particular embodiments, the system may perform any one or more of theabove steps automatically. The system then generates a receipt for theDSAR request that the user can use as a transactional record of theirsubmitted request.

In particular embodiments, the ticket management system may be adaptedto generate a graphical user interface (e.g., a DSAR request-processingdashboard) that is adapted to allow a user (e.g., a privacy officer ofan organization that is receiving the DSAR) to monitor the progress ofany of the DSAR requests. The GUI interface may display, for each DSAR,for example, an indication of how much time is left (e.g., quantified indays and/or hours) before a legal and/or internal deadline to fulfillthe request. The system may also display, for each DSAR, a respectiveuser-selectable indicium that, when selected, may facilitate one or moreof the following: (1) verification of the request; (2) assignment of therequest to another individual; (3) requesting an extension to fulfillthe request; (4) rejection of the request; or (5) suspension of therequest.

As noted immediately above, and elsewhere in this application, inparticular embodiments, any one or more of the above steps may beexecuted by the system automatically. As a particular example, thesystem may be adapted to automatically verify the identity of the DSARrequestor and then automatically fulfill the DSAR request by, forexample, obtaining the requested information via a suitable data modeland communicating the information to the requestor. As anotherparticular example, the system may be configured to automatically routethe DSAR to the correct individual for handling based at least in parton one or more pieces of information provided (e.g., in the webform).

In various embodiments, the system may be adapted to prioritize theprocessing of DSAR's based on metadata about the data subject of theDSAR. For example, the system may be adapted for: (1) in response toreceiving a DSAR, obtaining metadata regarding the data subject; (2)using the metadata to determine whether a priority of the DSAR should beadjusted based on the obtained metadata; and (3) in response todetermining that the priority of the DSAR should be adjusted based onthe obtained metadata, adjusting the priority of the DSAR.

Examples of metadata that may be used to determine whether to adjust thepriority of a particular DSAR include: (1) the type of request; (2) thelocation from which the request is being made; (3) the country ofresidency of the data subject and, for example, that county's tolerancefor enforcing DSAR violations; (4) current sensitivities to worldevents; (5) a status of the requestor (e.g., especially loyal customer);or (6) any other suitable metadata.

In various embodiments, the system is adapted for, in the course ofprocessing a particular data subject access request, automaticallydetermining a type of the data subject access request, the determinedtype of data subject access request being selected from a groupconsisting of: (1) a request to delete personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by a particular organization; (2) a request toprovide, to the requestor, personal data of the requestor that is beingstored by the particular organization; (3) a request to update personaldata of the requestor that is being stored by the particularorganization; (4) a request to opt out of having the particularorganization use the requestor's personal information in one or moreparticular ways; and (5) any other suitable type of request. Aftermaking this determination, the system may determine, based at leastpartially on the determined type of data subject access request, aparticular workflow to follow in processing the data subject accessrequest. For example, in various embodiments, the system may determine,based on the determined type of data subject access request, anauthentication methodology that is to be used to verify the requestor'sidentity before the system facilitates completion of the data subjectaccess request. The system may then use the determined type ofauthentication methodology to verify the requestor's identity, and atleast partially in response to verifying the requestor's identity viathe determined type of authentication methodology, execute at least oneprocessing step to advance the completion of the data subject accessrequest.

In particular embodiments, in response to not being able toautomatically verify the requestor's identity via the determined type ofauthentication methodology (e.g., in response to receiving more than apredetermined threshold number of incorrect pieces of authenticatinginformation from the requestor), the system may: (1) automaticallygenerate and display a message to the requestor indicating that therequestor's identity has not been verified using the providedinformation and/or that the data subject access request can not becompleted; (2) attempting to automatically authenticate the requestor'sidentity via a second, different methodology; and/or (3) generate anelectronic indication to a particular individual that the requestor'sidentity needs to be authenticated via a different (e.g., automatic ormanual) methodology.

As other examples, the system may determine, based, at least in part, onthe determined type of data subject access request: (1) whether toautomatically process the data subject access request; (2) whether tofacilitate at least a partial manual processing of the data subjectaccess request; (3) how quickly the request should be processed (e.g.,by elevating a priority of the request and/or by setting a shorter timeperiod for completing the request; and/or (4) who should be responsiblefor handling or supervising the request.

In various embodiments, the system may determine whether to execute anyone or more of the system workflows described herein, or any othersuitable workflow(s), in processing a particular DSAR request, based, atleast in part, on one or more factors such as: (1) the state, countryand/or territory of residence of the data subject for which theparticular DSAR is being requested (e.g., the DSAR requestor); (2) thecurrent location of the data subject (e.g., state, country, and/orterritory); (3) whether or not the data subject is an online customer ofthe particular organization (a customer with an online account with theparticular organization) to which they are submitting the DSAR; and/or(4) an estimated time (e.g., that may be determined by the system in anysuitable way) that it will take to complete the DSAR. It should beunderstood, in light of this disclosure, that the system may determinethe one or more system workflows for processing a particular DSAR based,at least in part, on any one of the above-listed factors and/or the typeof the DSAR request.

Exemplary Technical Platforms

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant field, the presentinvention may be, for example, embodied as a computer system, a method,or a computer program product. Accordingly, various embodiments may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.Furthermore, particular embodiments may take the form of a computerprogram product stored on a computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) embodied in the storagemedium. Various embodiments may take the form of web-implementedcomputer software. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may beutilized including, for example, hard disks, compact disks, DVDs,optical storage devices, and/or magnetic storage devices.

Various embodiments are described below with reference to block diagramsand flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatuses (e.g., systems), andcomputer program products. It should be understood that each block ofthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations ofblocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively,can be implemented by a computer executing computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus to create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memoryproduce an article of manufacture that is configured for implementingthe function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computerprogram instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus toproduce a computer implemented process such that the instructions thatexecute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide stepsfor implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block orblocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of mechanisms for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instructions for performing the specified functions. Itshould also be understood that each block of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based computer systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware andother hardware executing appropriate computer instructions.

Example System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data subject access request processingand fulfillment system 100 according to a particular embodiment. Invarious embodiments, the data subject access request processing andfulfillment system is part of a privacy compliance system (also referredto as a privacy management system), or other system, which may, forexample, be associated with a particular organization and be configuredto aid in compliance with one or more legal or industry regulationsrelated to the collection and storage of personal data.

As may be understood from FIG. 1, the data subject access requestprocessing and fulfillment system 100 includes one or more computernetworks 115, a Data Model Generation Server 110, a Data ModelPopulation Server 120, an Intelligent Identity Scanning Server 130(which may automatically validate a DSAR requestor's identity), One orMore Databases 140 or other data structures, one or more remotecomputing devices 150 (e.g., a desktop computer, laptop computer, tabletcomputer, smartphone, etc.), and One or More Third Party Servers 160. Inparticular embodiments, the one or more computer networks 115 facilitatecommunication between the Data Model Generation Server 110, Data ModelPopulation Server 120, Intelligent Identity Scanning/Verification Server130, One or More Databases 140, one or more remote computing devices 150(e.g., a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone,etc.), One or More Third Party Servers 160, and DSAR Processing andFulfillment Server 170. Although in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, theData Model Generation Server 110, Data Model Population Server 120,Intelligent Identity Scanning Server 130, One or More Databases 140, oneor more remote computing devices 150 (e.g., a desktop computer, laptopcomputer, tablet computer, smartphone, etc.), and One or More ThirdParty Servers 160, and DSAR Processing and Fulfillment Server 170 areshown as separate servers, it should be understood that in otherembodiments, the functionality of one or more of these servers and/orcomputing devices may, in different embodiments, be executed by a largeror smaller number of local servers, one or more cloud-based servers, orany other suitable configuration of computers.

The one or more computer networks 115 may include any of a variety oftypes of wired or wireless computer networks such as the Internet, aprivate intranet, a public switch telephone network (PSTN), or any othertype of network. The communication link between the DSAR Processing andFulfillment Server 170 and the One or More Remote Computing Devices 150may be, for example, implemented via a Local Area Network (LAN) or viathe Internet. In other embodiments, the One or More Databases 140 may bestored either fully or partially on any suitable server or combinationof servers described herein.

FIG. 2A illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a computer 200 thatcan be used within the data subject access request processing andfulfillment system 100, for example, as a client computer (e.g., one ormore remote computing devices 150 shown in FIG. 1), or as a servercomputer (e.g., Data Model Generation Server 110 shown in FIG. 1). Inparticular embodiments, the computer 200 may be suitable for use as acomputer within the context of the data subject access requestprocessing and fulfillment system 100 that is configured for routingand/or processing DSAR requests and/or generating one or more datamodels used in automatically fulfilling those requests.

In particular embodiments, the computer 200 may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other computers in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, and/orthe Internet. As noted above, the computer 200 may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client computer in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer computer in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The Computer 200 may be a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), acellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, aswitch or bridge, or any other computer capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that computer. Further, while only a single computer is illustrated,the term “computer” shall also be taken to include any collection ofcomputers that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets)of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

An exemplary computer 200 includes a processing device 202, a mainmemory 204 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc.), static memory 206 (e.g., flash memory, static randomaccess memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device 218, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 232.

The processing device 202 represents one or more general-purposeprocessing devices such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit,or the like. More particularly, the processing device 202 may be acomplex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instructionword (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instructionsets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessing device 202 may also be one or more special-purpose processingdevices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP),network processor, or the like. The processing device 202 may beconfigured to execute processing logic 226 for performing variousoperations and steps discussed herein.

The computer 120 may further include a network interface device 208. Thecomputer 200 also may include a video display unit 210 (e.g., a liquidcrystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumericinput device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 214 (e.g.,a mouse), and a signal generation device 216 (e.g., a speaker).

The data storage device 218 may include a non-transitorycomputer-accessible storage medium 230 (also known as a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readablemedium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software instructions 222) embodying any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The software instructions222 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within mainmemory 204 and/or within processing device 202 during execution thereofby computer 200—main memory 204 and processing device 202 alsoconstituting computer-accessible storage media. The softwareinstructions 222 may further be transmitted or received over a network115 via network interface device 208.

While the computer-accessible storage medium 230 is shown in anexemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term“computer-accessible storage medium” should be understood to include asingle medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one ormore sets of instructions. The terms “computer-accessible storagemedium”, “computer-readable medium”, and like terms should also beunderstood to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying a set of instructions for execution by the computer and thatcause the computer to perform any one or more of the methodologies ofthe present invention. These terms should accordingly be understood toinclude, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical andmagnetic media, etc.

Systems for Managing Data Subject Access Requests

In various embodiments, the system may include a ticket managementsystem and/or other systems for managing data subject access requests.In operation, the system may use one or more computer processors, whichare operatively coupled to memory, to execute one or more softwaremodules (which may be included in the Instructions 222 referenced above)such as a DSAR Request Processing Module 1000. An overview of thefunctionality and operation of this module is provided below.

Data Subject Access Request Processing Module 1000

As shown in FIG. 2B, a Data Subject Access Request Processing Module1000, according to particular embodiments, is adapted for executing thesteps of: (1) at Step 1050, receiving, by at least one computerprocessor (e.g., via input received by a webform, chatbot, electronicmessaging application, API, or any other suitable input-receivingmechanism) a data subject access request from a data subject accessrequestor; (2) at Step 1100, automatically determining a type of thedata subject access request, the determined type of data subject accessrequest being selected from a group consisting of: (A) a request todelete personal data of the requestor that is being stored by aparticular organization; (B) a request to provide, to the requestor,personal data of the requestor that is being stored by the particularorganization; (C) a request to update personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; and (D) a requestto opt out of having the particular organization use the requestor'spersonal information in one or more particular ways. After making thisdetermination, the system may determine, at Step 1150, based at leastpartially on the determined type of data subject access request, aparticular workflow to follow in processing the data subject accessrequest. After determining the workflow, the system may facilitate, atStep 1200, the processing of the request via the computer-implementedworkflow.

For example, in various embodiments, the system may determine, based onthe determined type of data subject access request, an authenticationmethodology that is to be used to verify the requestor's identity beforethe system facilitates completion of the data subject access request.The system may use the determined type of authentication methodology toverify the requestor's identity, and at least partially in response toverifying the requestor's identity via the determined type ofauthentication methodology, execute at least one processing step toadvance the completion of the data subject access request.

In particular embodiments, in response to not being able toautomatically verify the requestor's identity via the determined type ofauthentication methodology (e.g., in response to receiving more than apredetermined number of incorrect pieces of identifying information fromthe requestor), the system may: (1) automatically generate and display amessage to the requestor indicating that the requestor's identity hasnot been verified using the provided identifying information and/or thatthe data subject access request can not be completed; (2) attempt toauthenticate the requestor's identity via a second methodology; and/or(3) generate and communicate an electronic indication to a particularindividual that the requestor's identity needs to be authenticated via adifferent (e.g., automatic or manual) methodology.

As other examples, the system may determine, based on the determinedtype of data subject access request: (1) whether to automaticallyprocess the data subject access request; (2) whether to facilitate atleast a partial manual processing of the data subject access request;(3) how quickly the request should be processed (e.g., by elevating apriority of the request and/or by setting a shorter time period forcompleting the request); and/or (4) who should be responsible forhandling and/or supervising the request.

In various embodiments, the system may determine whether to execute anyone or more of the system workflows described herein, or any othersuitable workflow(s), in processing a particular DSAR request based, atleast in part, on one or more factors, such as: (1) the state, countryand/or territory of residence of the data subject for which theparticular DSAR is being requested (e.g., the DSAR requestor); (2) thecurrent location of the data subject (e.g., state, country, and/orterritory); (3) whether or not the data subject is an online customer ofthe particular organization (a customer with an online account with theparticular organization) to which they are submitting the DSAR; and/or(4) an estimated time (e.g., that may be determined by the system in anysuitable way) that it will take to complete the DSAR. It should beunderstood, in light of this disclosure, that the system may determinethe one or more system workflows for processing a particular DSAR based,at least in part, on any one of the above-listed factors and/or the typeof the DSAR request.

Below are some selected examples of workflow-determination logic thatthe system may implement when determining which one or more particularworkflows to implement in processing a particular DSAR request from aparticular data subject who is making the DSAR to a particular entity.

(1) if the DSAR is a request to delete personal information of the datasubject that is being stored by the particular entity, require the datasubject to verify their identity with a first number of pieces ofidentifying information (e.g., four) before the system fulfils the DSAR;if the DSAR is a request to obtain a copy of their personal informationthat is being stored by the particular entity, require the data subjectto verify their identity with a second number of pieces of identifyinginformation (e.g., two) before the system fulfils the DSAR. Inparticular embodiments, the first number is larger than the secondnumber, but in alternative embodiments the first number may be smallerthan or equal to the second number;

(2) if the DSAR is a request to update personal information of the datasubject that is being stored by the particular entity, require the datasubject to verify their identity with a first number of pieces ofidentifying information (e.g., four) before the system fulfils the DSAR;if the DSAR is a request to obtain a copy of their personal informationthat is being stored by the particular entity, require the data subjectto verify their identity with a second number of pieces of identifyinginformation (e.g., two) before the system fulfils the DSAR. Inparticular embodiments, the first number is larger than the secondnumber, but in alternative embodiments the first number may be smallerthan, or equal to, the second number;

(3) if the DSAR is a request to delete personal information of the datasubject that is being stored by the particular entity, require the datasubject to verify their identity with a first number of pieces ofidentifying information (e.g., four) before the system fulfils the DSAR;if the DSAR is a request to opt out of one or more data processingprocedures, require the data subject to verify their identity with asecond number of pieces of identifying information (e.g., three) beforethe system fulfils the DSAR. In particular embodiments, the first numberis larger than the second number, but in alternative embodiments thefirst number may be smaller than, or equal to, the second number;

(4) if the data subject is resident of a first territory (e.g., aparticular European country), require the data subject to verify theiridentity with a different number of pieces of identifying information(e.g., more pieces of identifying information) than if the data subjectis a resident of a second territory (e.g., the United States); and

(5) if the system estimates (e.g., automatically estimates) that theDSAR will be completed after an initial deadline for completing theDSAR, automatically initiate a request (e.g., by the system) to extendthe deadline for completing the DSAR—in various embodiments, the systemmay automatically estimate the time of completion of the DSAR request(e.g., by automatically estimating a time of completing each of aplurality of individual steps associated with completing the DSARrequest) and, if necessary, initiate a request to extend the deadlinefor completing the DSAR at least partially in response to (e.g., inresponse to) receiving the DSAR.

It should be understood that the above are examples and that othervariations of determining workflows based upon, for example, anycombination of the above-listed factors may be implemented by variousembodiments of the system.

Operation of Example Implementation

FIGS. 3-43 are screen shots that demonstrate the operation of aparticular embodiment. FIGS. 3-6 show a graphical user interface (GUI)of an example webform construction tool. FIG. 3 shows a user working todesign a webform called “Web_form_1”. As may be understood from thevertical menu shown on the left-hand side of the screen, the webformconstruction tool allows users to design a webform by: (1) specifyingthe details of the form (via the “Form Details” tab); (2) defining thefields that will be displayed on the webform (via the “Webform Fields”tab); (3) defining the styling of the webform (via the “Form Styling”tab); and (4) defining various settings associated with the webform (viathe “Settings” tab). As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the user may also specifytext to be displayed on the webform (e.g., via a “Form Text” tab).

FIG. 4 shows that, by selecting the “Form Details” tab, the user maydefine which answers a requestor will be able to specify on the webformin response to prompts for information regarding what type of individualthey are (customer, employee, etc.) and what type of request they aremaking via the webform. Example request types include: (1) a request forall personal data that an organization is processing for the datasubject (a copy of the personal data in a commonly used,machine-readable format); (2) a request for all such personal data to bedeleted; (3) a request to update personal data that the organization isstoring for the data subject; (4) a request to opt out of having theorganization use the individual's personal information in one or moreparticular ways (e.g., per the organization's standard businesspractices); (5) file a complaint; and/or (6) other.

FIG. 5 shows that, by selecting the “Settings” tab, the user may specifyvarious system settings, such as whether Captcha will be used to verifythat information is being entered by a human, rather than a computer.

FIG. 6 shows that, by selecting the Form Styling tab, the user mayspecify the styling of the webform. The styling may include, forexample: (1) a header logo; (2) header height; (3) header color; (4)body text color; (5) body text size; (6) form label color; (7) buttoncolor; (8) button text color; (9) footer text color; (10) footer textsize; and/or any other suitable styling related to the webform.

In other embodiments, the system is configured to enable a user tospecify, when configuring a new webform, what individual at a particularorganization (e.g., company) will be responsible for responding torequests made via the webform. The system may, for example, enable theuser to define a specific default sub-organization (e.g., within theorganization) responsible for responding to DSAR's submitted via the newwebform. As such, the system may be configured to automatically route anew DSAR made via the new webform to the appropriate sub-organizationfor processing and fulfillment. In various embodiments, the system isconfigured to route one or more various portions of the DSAR to one ormore different sub-organizations within the organization for handling.

In particular embodiments, the system may include any suitable logic fordetermining how the webform routes data subject access requests. Forexample, the system may be adapted to determine which organization orindividual to route a particular data subject access request to based,at least in part, on one or more factors selected from a groupconsisting of: (1) the data subject's current location; (2) the datasubject's country of residence; (3) the type of request being made; (4)the type of systems that contain (e.g., store and/or process) the user'spersonal data (e.g., in ADP, Salesforce, etc.); or any other suitablefactor. (The system may use any of this information in determining oneor more subsequent workflows according to which the system will processthe DSAR, according to the techniques discussed elsewhere herein.)

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to enable a usergenerating webforms to assign multiple webforms to multiple differentrespective suborganizations within an organization. For example, anorganization called ACME, Inc. may have a website for each of aplurality of different brands (e.g., sub-organizations) under which ACMEsells products (e.g., UNICORN Brand T-shirts, GRIPP Brand Jeans, etc.).As may be understood in light of this disclosure, each website for eachof the particular brands may include an associated webform forsubmitting DSAR's (either a webform directly on the website, or one thatis accessible via a link on the website). Each respective webform may beconfigured to route a DSAR made via its associated brand website to aparticular sub-organization and/or individuals within ACME for handlingDSAR's related to the brand.

As noted above, after the user uses the webform construction tool todesign a particular webform for use on a particular web page, thewebform construction tool generates code (e.g., HTML code) that may bepasted into the particular web page to run the designed webform page. Inparticular embodiment, when pasted into the particular web page, thecode generates a selectable button on the web page that, when selected,causes the system to display a suitable DSAR request webform.

FIG. 7 shows the privacy webpage of a company (e.g., the ACMEcorporation). As shown in this figure, a requestor may submit a DSAR byselecting a “Submit a Privacy Related Request” button on the web page.

FIG. 8 shows a webform that is displayed after a requestor selects the“Submit a Privacy Related Request” button on the privacy webpage of FIG.7. As may be understood from this figure, the requestor may complete thewebform by specifying which type of user they are, and what type ofrequest they are making. The webform also asks the requestor to provideenough personal information to confirm their identity (e.g., and fulfillthe request). As shown in this figure, the system may prompt a usersubmitting a DSAR to provide information for the user such as, forexample: (1) what type of requestor the user is (e.g., employee,customer, etc.); (2) what the request involves (e.g., requesting info,opting out, deleting data, updating data, etc.); (3) first name; (4)last name; (5) email address; (6) telephone number; (7) home address;(8) one or more other pieces of identifying information; and/or (9) oneor more details associated with the request. FIG. 9 shows an examplepopulated version of the webform. (The system may use any of thisinformation in determining one or more subsequent workflows according towhich the system will process the DSAR, according to the techniquesdiscussed elsewhere herein.)

As shown in FIG. 10, after a requestor completes the webform and selectsa “submit” indicia, the system displays a message to the requestorindicating that their DSAR has been successfully submitted. The systemalso displays a Request ID associated with the request. In response tothe requestor successfully submitting the request, the system may alsosend an email (or other suitable communication) to the requestorconfirming the request. An example of a suitable confirmation email isshown in FIG. 11.

In various embodiments, the system includes a dashboard that may be usedby various individuals within an organization (e.g., one or more privacyofficers of an organization) to manage multiple DSAR requests. Asdiscussed above, the dashboard may display DSAR's submitted,respectively, to a single organization, any of multiple differentsub-organizations (divisions, departments, subsidiaries etc.) of aparticular organization, and/or any of multiple independentorganizations. For example, the dashboard may display a listing ofDSAR's that were submitted from a parent organization and from theparent organization's U.S. and European subsidiaries. This may beadvantageous, for example, because it may allow an organization tomanage all DSAR requests of all of its sub-organizations (and/or otherrelated organizations) centrally.

FIGS. 12-23, 25-27, 29-34, and 41-43 depict various exampleuser-interface screens of a DSAR request-management dashboard. As may beunderstood from FIG. 12, after an appropriate user (e.g., a privacyofficer associated with a particular organization) logs into the system,the system may display a Data Subject Request Queue that may, forexample, display a listing of all data subject access requests that theappropriate individual has been designated to process. As shown in FIG.12, each data subject access request may be represented by a respectiverow of information that includes: (1) an ID number for the request; (2)the name of the data subject who has submitted the request; (3) thestatus of the request; (4) the number of days that are left to respondto the request (e.g., according to applicable laws and/or internalprocedures); (5) an indication as to whether the deadline to respond tothe request has been extended; (6) a creation date of the request; (7)an indication of the type of requestor that submitted the request(customer, employee, etc.); (8) the name of the individual who has beenassigned to process the request (e.g., the respondent). This screen mayalso include selectable “Edit” and “Filter” buttons that respectivelyfacilitate acting on and filtering the various requests displayed on thepage.

As shown in FIG. 13, in response to a respondent selecting the editbutton while a particular DSAR is highlighted, the system displays adropdown menu allowing the respondent to select between taking thefollowing actions: (1) verify the request; (2) assign the request toanother individual; (3) request an extension; (4) reject the request; or(5) suspend the request.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a message that the system displays to therespondent in response to the respondent selecting the “verify” option.As shown in this figure, the system prompts the respondent to indicatewhether they are sure that they wish to authenticate the request. Thesystem also presents an input field where the respondent can enter textto be displayed to the requestor along with a request for the requestorto provide information verifying that they are the data subjectassociated with the request. After the respondent populates the inputfield, they may submit the request by selecting a “Submit” button.

In particular embodiments, the input field may enable the respondent toprovide one or more supporting reasons for a decision, by therespondent, to authenticate the request. The respondent may also uploadone or more supporting documents (such as an attachment). The supportingdocuments or information may include, for example, one or more documentsutilized in confirming the requestor's identity, etc.

In response to the respondent selecting the Submit button, the systemchanges the status of the request to “In Progress” and also changes thecolor of the request's status from orange to blue (or from any othersuitable color to any different suitable color)—see FIG. 16. The systemalso generates and sends a message (e.g., an electronic or papermessage) to the requestor asking them to submit information verifyingthe request. The message may include the text that the respondententered in the text box of FIG. 14.

As shown in FIGS. 17-19, in response to a respondent selecting the“Edit” button and then selecting the “Assign” indicia from the displayeddropdown menu, the system displays a Request Assignment interface thatallows a respondent to indicate who the request should be assigned to.For example, the respondent may indicate that they will be handling therequest, or assign the request to another suitable individual, who may,for example, then be designated as the respondent for the request. Ifthe respondent assigns the request to another individual for handling,the respondent may also provide an email address or other correspondenceinformation for the individual. The Request Assignment interfaceincludes a comment box for allowing a respondent to add a message to theindividual that the assignment will be assigned to regarding theassignment. In response to the respondent selecting the “Assign” button,the system assigns the request to the designated individual forhandling. If the request has been assigned to another, designatedindividual, the system automatically generates and sends a message(e.g., an electronic message such as an email or SMS message) to thedesignated individual informing them of the assignment.

As shown in FIGS. 20-22, in response to a respondent selecting the“Edit” button and then selecting the “Reject” indicia from the displayeddropdown menu, the system displays a Reject Request interface. Thisinterface includes a comment box for allowing a respondent to add amessage to the requestor as to why the request was rejected. In responseto the respondent selecting the “Submit” button, the system changes thestatus of the request to “Rejected” and changes the color of therequest's status indicator to red (See FIG. 23). The system may alsoautomatically generate a message (e.g., an electronic or paper message)to the requestor notifying them that their request has been rejected anddisplaying the text that the respondent entered into the Reject Requestinterface of FIG. 22. An example of such a message is shown in FIG. 24.

As shown in FIGS. 25-26, in response to a respondent selecting the“Edit” button and then selecting the “Request Extension” indicia fromthe displayed dropdown menu, the system displays a Request Extensioninterface. This includes a text box for allowing a user to indicate thenumber of days for which they would like to extend the current deadlinefor responding to the request. For example, the dialog box of FIG. 26shows the respondent requesting that the current deadline be extended by90 days. In response to the respondent entering a desired extensionduration and selecting the “Submit” button, the system updates thedeadline in the system's memory (e.g., in an appropriate data structure)to reflect the extension. For instance, in the example of FIG. 26, thesystem extends the deadline to be 90 days later than the currentdeadline. As shown in FIG. 27, the system also updates the “Days Left toRespond” field within the Data Subject Request Queue to reflect theextension (e.g., from 2 days from the current date to 92 days from thecurrent date). As shown in FIG. 28, the system may also generate anappropriate message (e.g., an electronic, such as an email, or a papermessage) to the requestor indicating that the request has been delayed.This message may provide a reason for the delay and/or an anticipatedupdated completion date for the request.

In particular embodiments, the system may include logic forautomatically determining whether a requested extension complies withone or more applicable laws or internal policies and, in response,either automatically grant or reject the requested extension. Forexample, if the maximum allowable time for replying to a particularrequest is 90 days under the controlling laws and the respondentrequests an extension that would result in the fulfillment of therequest 91 or more days from the date that the request was submitted,the system may automatically reject the extension request. In variousembodiments, the system may also communicate, to the respondent (e.g.,via a suitable electronic message or text display on a system userinterface) an explanation as to why the extension request was denied,and/or a maximum amount of time (e.g., a maximum number of days) thatthe deadline may be extended under the applicable laws or policies. Invarious embodiments, if the system determines that the requestedextension is permissible under the applicable laws and/or policies, thesystem may automatically grant the extension.

In other embodiments, the system may be configured to automaticallymodify a length of the requested extension to conform with one or moreapplicable laws and/or policies. For example, if the request was for a90-day extension, but only a 60 day extension is available under theapplicable laws or regulations, the system may automatically grant a60-day extension rather than a 90 day extension. The system may beadapted to also automatically generate and transmit a suitable message(e.g., a suitable electronic or paper communication) notifying them ofthe fact that the extension was granted for a shorter, specified periodof time than requested.

As shown in FIGS. 29-34, a respondent may obtain additional detailsregarding a particular request by selecting (e.g., clicking on) therequest on the Data Subject Request Queue screen. For example, FIG. 30shows a Data Subject Request Details screen that the system displays inresponse to a respondent selecting the “Donald Blair” request on theuser interface screen of FIG. 35. As shown in FIG. 30, the Data SubjectRequest Details screen shows all correspondence between the organizationand the requesting individual regarding the selected data subject accessrequest. As may be understood from FIG. 31, when a respondent selects aparticular correspondence (e.g., email), the system displays thecorrespondence to the respondent for review or other processing.

As shown in FIG. 32, in various embodiments, the system may provide aselectable “Reply” indicia that allows the respondent to reply toparticular correspondence from an individual. As may be understood fromthis figure, in response to the respondent selecting the “Reply”indicia, the system may display a dropdown menu of various standardreplies. For example, the dropdown menu may provide the option ofgenerating a reply to the requestor indicating that the request has beenrejected, is pending, has been extended, or that the request has beencompleted.

As shown in FIG. 33, in response to the respondent selecting “Reply asCompleted”, the system may generate a draft email to the requestorexplaining that the request has been completed. The respondent may thenedit this email and send the edited correspondence (e.g., via email) tothe requestor by selecting a “Send as Complete” indicia. As shown inFIG. 34, the system may, in response, display an indicator adjacent thecorrespondence indicating that the correspondence included a replyindicating that the request was complete. This may be useful in allowingindividuals to understand the contents of the correspondence withouthaving to open it.

FIG. 35 shows an example email automatically generated by the system inresponse to the respondent selecting “Reply as Completed” on the screenshown in FIG. 32. As shown in FIG. 35, the correspondence may include asecure link that the requestor may select to access the data that wasrequested in the DSAR. In particular embodiments, the link is a link toa secure website, such as the website shown in FIG. 36, that providesaccess to the requested data (e.g., by allowing a user to download a.pdf file, or other suitable file, that includes the requested data). Asshown in FIG. 36, the website may require multiple pieces of data toverify that the requestor is permitted to access the site. For example,in order to access the website, the requestor may be required to provideboth the unique ID number of the request, and an authentication token,which the system may send to the user via email—See FIGS. 37 and 38.

FIGS. 39-43 are computer screen shots that depict additional userinterfaces according to various embodiments.

Additional Concepts

Intelligent Prioritization of DSAR's

In various embodiments, the system may be adapted to prioritize theprocessing of DSAR's based on metadata about the data subject of theDSAR. For example, the system may be adapted for: (1) in response toreceiving a DSAR, obtaining metadata regarding the data subject; (2)using the metadata to determine whether a priority of the DSAR should beadjusted based on the obtained metadata; and (3) in response todetermining that the priority of the DSAR should be adjusted based onthe obtained metadata, adjusting the priority of the DSAR.

Examples of metadata that may be used to determine whether to adjust thepriority of a particular DSAR include: (1) the type of request, (2) thelocation from which the request is being made, (3) current sensitivitiesto world events, (4) a status of the requestor (e.g., especially loyalcustomer), or (5) any other suitable metadata.

In various embodiments, in response to the system determining that thepriority of a particular DSAR should be elevated, the system mayautomatically adjust the deadline for responding to the DSAR. Forexample, the system may update the deadline in the system's memoryand/or modify the “Days Left to Respond” field (See FIG. 13) to includea fewer number of days left to respond to the request. Alternatively, orin addition, the system may use other techniques to convey to arespondent that the request should be expedited (e.g., change the colorof the request, send a message to the respondent that they shouldprocess the request before non-prioritized requests, etc.)

In various embodiments, in response to the system determining that thepriority of a particular DSAR should be lowered, the system mayautomatically adjust the deadline for responding to the DSAR by addingto the number of days left to respond to the request.

Automatic Deletion of Data Subject Records Based on Detected Systems

In particular embodiments, in response a data subject submitting arequest to delete their personal data from an organization's systems,the system may: (1) automatically determine where the data subject'spersonal data is stored; and (2) in response to determining the locationof the data (which may be on multiple computing systems), automaticallyfacilitate the deletion of the data subject's personal data from thevarious systems (e.g., by automatically assigning a plurality of tasksto delete data across multiple business systems to effectively deletethe data subject's personal data from the systems). In particularembodiments, the step of facilitating the deletion may comprise, forexample: (1) overwriting the data in memory; (2) marking the data foroverwrite; (2) marking the data as free (e.g., and deleting a directoryentry associated with the data); and/or (3) any other suitable techniquefor deleting the personal data. In particular embodiments, as part ofthis process, the system uses an appropriate data model (see discussionabove) to efficiently determine where all of the data subject's personaldata is stored.

Automatic Determination of Business Processes that Increase Chance ofDeletion Requests

In various embodiments, the system is adapted to store, in memory, a logof DSAR actions. The system may also store, in memory, additionalinformation regarding the data subjects of each of the requests. Thesystem may use this information, for example, to determine whichbusiness processes are most commonly associated with a data subjectsubmitting a request to have their personal information deleted from theorganization's systems. The organization may then use this informationto revise the identified business processes in an effort to reduce thenumber of deletion requests issued by data subjects associated with thebusiness processes.

As a particular example, the system may analyze stored information todetermine that a high number (e.g., 15%) of all participants in acompany's loyalty program submit requests to have their personalinformation deleted from the company's systems. In response to makingthis determination, the system may issue an electronic alert to anappropriate individual (e.g., a privacy officer of the company),informing them of the high rate of members of the company's loyaltyprogram issuing personal data delete requests. This alert may prompt theindividual to research the issue and try to resolve it.

Automated Data Subject Verification

In various embodiments, before a data subject request can be processed,the data subject's identity may need to be verified. In variousembodiments, the system provides a mechanism to automatically detect thetype of authentication required for a particular data subject based onthe type of Data Subject Access Request being made and automaticallyissues a request to the data subject to verify their identity againstthat form of identification. For example, a subject rights request mightonly require two types of authentication, but a deletion request mayrequire four types of data to verify authentication. The system mayautomatically detect which is type of authentication is required basedon the DSAR and send an appropriate request to the data subject toverify their identity.

Stated more particularly, when processing a data subject access request,the system may be configured to verify an identity of the data subjectprior to processing the request (e.g., or as part of the processingstep). In various embodiments, confirming the identity of the datasubject may, for example, limit a risk that a third-party or otherentity may gain unlawful or unconsented to access to the requestor'spersonal data. The system may, for example, limit processing andfulfillment of requests relating to a particular data subject torequests that are originated by (e.g., received from) the particulardata subject. When processing a data subject access request, the systemmay be configured to use various reasonable measures to verify theidentity of the data subject who requests access (e.g., in particular inthe context of online services and online identifiers). In particularembodiments, the system is configured to substantially automaticallyvalidate an identity of a data subject when processing the data subjectaccess request.

For example, in particular embodiments, the system may be configured tosubstantially automatically (e.g., automatically) authenticate and/orvalidate an identity of a data subject using any suitable technique.These techniques may include, for example: (1) one or more credit-basedand/or public- or private-information-based verification techniques; (2)one or more company verification techniques (e.g., in the case of abusiness-to-business data subject access request); (3) one or moretechniques involving integration with a company's employeeauthentication system; (4) one or more techniques involving a company's(e.g., organization's) consumer portal authentication process; (5) etc.Various exemplary techniques for authenticating a data subject arediscussed more fully below.

In particular embodiments, when authenticating a data subject (e.g.,validating the data subject's identity), the system may be configured toexecute particular identity confirmation steps, for example, byinterfacing with one or more external systems (e.g., one or morethird-party data aggregation systems). For example, the system, whenvalidating a data subject's identity, may begin by verifying that aperson with the data subject's name, address, social security number, orother identifying characteristic (e.g., which may have been provided bythe data subject as part of the data subject access request) actuallyexists. In various embodiments, the system is configured to interfacewith (e.g., transmit a search request to) one or more credit reportingagencies (e.g., Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, etc.) to confirm that aperson with one or more characteristics provided by the data subjectexists. The system may, for example, interface with such creditreporting agencies via a suitable plugin (e.g., software plugin).Additionally, there might be a verification on behalf of a trustedthird-party system (e.g., the controller).

In still other embodiments, the system may be configured to utilize oneor more other third-party systems (e.g., such as LexisNexis, IDology,RSA, etc.), which may, for example, compile utility and phone bill data,property deeds, rental agreement data, and other public records forvarious individuals. The system may be configured to interface with oneor more such third-party systems to confirm that a person with one ormore characteristics provided by the data subject exists.

After the step of confirming the existence of a person with the one ormore characteristics provided by the data subject, the system may beconfigured to confirm that the person making the data subject accessrequest is, in fact, the data subject. The system may, for example,verify that the requestor is the data subject by prompting the requestorto answer one or more knowledge-based authentication questions (e.g.,out-of-wallet questions). In particular embodiments, the system isconfigured to utilize one or more third-party services as a source ofsuch questions (e.g., any of the suitable third-party sources discussedimmediately above). The system may use third-party data from the one ormore third-party sources to generate one or more questions. These one ormore questions may include questions that a data subject should know ananswer to without knowing the question ahead of time (e.g., one or moreprevious addresses, a parent or spouse name and/or maiden name, etc.).

FIG. 46 depicts an exemplary identity verification questionnaire. As maybe understood from this figure, an identity verification questionnairemay include one or more questions whose responses include data that thesystem may derive from one or more credit agencies or other third-partydata aggregation services (e.g., such as previous street addresses,close associates, previous cities lived in, etc.). In particularembodiments, the system is configured to provide these one or morequestions to the data subject in response to receiving the data subjectaccess request. In other embodiments, the system is configured to promptthe data subject to provide responses to the one or more questions at alater time (e.g., during processing of the request). In particular otherembodiments, the system is configured to substantially automaticallycompare one or more pieces of information provided as part of the datasubject access request to one or more pieces of data received from athird-party data aggregation service in order to substantiallyautomatically verify the requestor's identity.

In still other embodiments, the system may be configured to prompt arequestor to provide one or more additional pieces of information inorder to validate the requestor's identity. This information mayinclude, for example: (1) at least a portion of the requestor's socialsecurity number (e.g., last four digits); (2) a name and/or place ofbirth of the requestor's father; (3) a name, maiden name, and/or placeof birth of the requestor's mother; and/or (4) any other informationwhich may be useful for confirming the requestor's identity (e.g., suchas information available on the requestor's birth certificate). In otherembodiments, the system may be configured to prompt the requestor toprovide authorization for the company to check the requestor's socialsecurity or other private records (e.g., credit check authorization,etc.) to obtain information that the system may use to confirm therequestor's identity. In other embodiments, the system may prompt theuser to provide one or more images (e.g., using a suitable mobilecomputing device) of an identifying document (e.g., a birth certificate,social security card, driver's license, etc.).

The system may, in response to a user providing one or more responsesthat matches information that the system receives from one or morethird-party data aggregators or through any other suitable background,credit, or other search, substantially automatically authenticate therequestor as the data subject. The system may then continue processingthe data subject's request, and ultimately fulfill their request.

In particular embodiments, such as embodiments in which the requestorincludes a business (e.g., as in a business to business data subjectaccess request), the system may be configured to authenticate therequesting business using one or more company verification techniques.These one or more company validation techniques may include, forexample, validating a vendor contract (e.g., between the requestingbusiness and the company receiving the data subject access request);receiving a matching token, code, or other unique identifier provided bythe company receiving the data subject access request to the requestingbusiness; receiving a matching file in possession of both the requestingbusiness and the company receiving the data subject access request;receiving a signed contract, certificate (e.g., digital or physical), orother document memorializing an association between the requestingbusiness and the company receiving the data subject access request;and/or any other suitable method of validating that a particular requestis actually made on behalf of the requesting business (e.g., byrequesting the requesting business to provide one or more pieces ofinformation, one or more files, one or more documents, etc. that mayonly be accessible to the requesting business).

In other embodiments, the system may be configured to authenticate arequest via integration with a company's employee or customer (e.g.,consumer) authentication process. For example, in response to receivinga data subject access request that indicates that the data subject is anemployee of the company receiving the data subject access request, thesystem may be configured to prompt the employee to login to thecompany's employee authentication system (e.g., Okta, Azure, AD, etc.)In this way, the system may be configured to authenticate the requestorbased at least in part on the requestor successfully logging into theauthentication system using the data subject's credentials. Similarly,in response to receiving a data subject access request that indicatesthat the data subject is a customer of the company receiving the datasubject access request, the system may be configured to prompt thecustomer to login to an account associated with the company (e.g., via aconsumer portal authentication process). In a particular example, thismay include, for example, an Apple ID (for data subject access requestsreceived by Apple). In this way, the system may be configured toauthenticate the requestor based at least in part on the requestorsuccessfully logging into the authentication system using the datasubject's credentials. In some embodiments, the system may be configuredto require the requestor to login using two-factor authentication orother suitable existing employee or consumer authentication process.

Data Subject Blacklist

In various embodiments, a particular organization may not be required torespond to a data subject access request that originates (e.g., isreceived from) a malicious requestor. A malicious requestor may include,for example: (1) a requestor (e.g., an individual) that submitsexcessive or redundant data subject access requests; (2) a group ofrequestors such as researchers, professors, students, NGOs, etc. thatsubmit a plurality of requests for reasons other than those reasonsprovided by policy, law, etc.; (3) a competitor of the company receivingthe data subject access request that is submitting such requests to tieup the company's resources unnecessarily; (4) a terrorist or otherorganization that may spam requests to disrupt the company's operationand response to valid requests; and/or (5) any other request that mayfall outside the scope of valid requests made for reasons proscribed bypublic policy, company policy, or law. In particular embodiments, thesystem is configured to maintain a blacklist of such maliciousrequestors.

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to track a source ofeach data subject access request and analyze each source to identifysources from which: (1) the company receives a large volume of requests;(2) the company receives a large number of repeat requests; (3) etc.These sources may include, for example: (1) one or more particular IPaddresses; (2) one or more particular domains; (3) one or moreparticular countries; (4) one or more particular institutions; (5) oneor more particular geographic regions; (6) etc. In various embodiments,in response to analyzing the sources of the requests, the system mayidentify one or more sources that may be malicious (e.g., are submittingexcessive requests).

In various embodiments, the system is configured to maintain a databaseof the identified one or more sources (e.g., in computer memory). Inparticular embodiments, the database may store a listing of identities,data sources, etc. that have been blacklisted (e.g., by the system). Inparticular embodiments, the system is configured to, in response toreceiving a new data subject access request, cross reference the requestwith the blacklist to determine if the requestor is on the blacklist oris making the request from a blacklisted source. The system may then, inresponse to determining that the requestor or source is blacklisted,substantially automatically reject the request. In particularembodiments, the blacklist cross-referencing step may be part of therequestor authentication (e.g., verification) discussed above. Invarious embodiments, the system may be configured to analyze requestdata on a company by company basis to generate a blacklist. In otherembodiments, the system may analyze global data (e.g., all datacollected for a plurality of companies that utilize the data subjectaccess request fulfillment system) to generate the blacklist.

In particular embodiments, the system may be configured to fulfill datasubject access requests for the purpose of providing a data subject withinformation regarding what data the company collects and for whatpurpose, for example, so the data subject can ensure that the company iscollecting data for lawful reasons. As such, the system may beconfigured to identify requestors and other sources of data requeststhat are made for other reasons (e.g., one or more reasons that wouldnot obligate the company to respond to the request). These reasons mayinclude, for example, malicious or other reasons such as: (1) researchby an academic institution by one or more students or professors; (2)anticompetitive requests by one or more competitors; (3) requests bydisgruntled former employees for nefarious reasons; (4) etc.

In particular embodiments, the system may, for example, maintain adatabase (e.g., in computer memory) of former employees. In otherembodiments, the system may, for example: (1) identify a plurality of IPaddresses associated with a particular entity (e.g., academicorganization, competitor, etc.); and (2) substantially automaticallyreject a data subject access request that originates from the pluralityof IP addresses. In such embodiments, the system may be configured toautomatically add such identified IP addresses and/or domains to theblacklist.

In still other embodiments, the system is configured to maintain alisting of blacklisted names of particular individuals. These mayinclude, for example, one or more individuals identified (e.g., by anorganization or other entity) as submitting malicious data subjectaccess requests).

FIG. 47 depicts a queue of pending data subject access requests. Asshown in this figure, the first three listed data subject accessrequests are new and require verification before processing andfulfillment can begin. As shown in this figure, a user (e.g., such as aprivacy officer or other privacy controller) may select a particularrequest, and select an indicia for verifying the request. The user mayalso optionally select to reject the request. FIG. 48 depicts anauthentication window that enables the user to authenticate a particularrequest. In various embodiments, the user may provide an explanation ofwhy the user is authenticating the request (e.g., because the requestorsuccessfully completed on or more out-of-wallet questions or for anyother suitable reason). The user may further submit one or moreattachments to support the verification. In this way, the system may beconfigured to document that the authentication process was performed foreach request (e.g., in case there was an issue with improperlyfulfilling a request, the company could show that they are followingprocedures to prevent such improper processing). In other embodiments,the system may enable the user to provide similar support when rejectinga request (e.g., because the requestor was blacklisted, made excessiverequests, etc.).

Data Subject Access Request Fulfillment Cost Determination

In various embodiments, as may be understood in light of thisdisclosure, fulfilling a data subject access request may be particularlycostly. In some embodiments, a company may store data regarding aparticular data subject in multiple different locations for a pluralityof different reasons as part of a plurality of different processing andother business activities. For example, a particular data subject may beboth a customer and an employee of a particular company or organization.Accordingly, in some embodiments, fulfilling a data subject accessrequest for a particular data subject may involve a plurality ofdifferent information technology (IT) professionals in a plurality ofdifferent departments of a particular company or organization. As such,it may be useful to determine a cost of a particular data subject accessrequest (e.g., particularly because, in some cases, a data subject isentitled to a response to their data subject access request as a matterof right at no charge).

In particular embodiments, in response to receiving a data subjectaccess request, the system may be configured to: (1) assign the requestto at least one privacy team member; (2) identify one or more IT teamsrequired to fulfill the request (e.g., one or more IT teams associatedwith one or more business units that may store personal data related tothe request); (3) delegate one or more subtasks of the request to eachof the one or more IT teams; (4) receive one or more time logs from eachindividual involved in the processing and fulfillment of the datasubject access request; (5) calculate an effective rate of eachindividual's time (e.g., based at least in part on the individual'ssalary, bonus, benefits, chair cost, etc.); (6) calculate an effectivecost of fulfilling the data subject access request based at least inpart on the one or more time logs and effective rate of each of theindividual's time; and (7) apply an adjustment to the calculatedeffective cost that accounts for one or more external factors (e.g.,overhead, etc.) in order to calculate a cost of fulfilling the datasubject access request.

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to substantiallyautomatically track an amount of time spent by each individual involvedin the processing and fulfillment of the data subject access request.The system may, for example, automatically track an amount of timebetween each individual opening and closing a ticket assigned to them aspart of their role in processing or fulfilling the data subject accessrequest. In other embodiments, the system may determine the time spentbased on an amount of time provided by each respective individual (e.g.,the individual may track their own time and submit it to the system).

In various embodiments, the system is configured to measure a cost ofeach particular data subject access request received, and analyze one ormore trends in costs of, for example: (1) data subject access requestsover time; (2) related data subject access requests; (3) etc. Forexample, the system may be configured to track and analyze cost andtime-to-process trends for one or more social groups, one or morepolitical groups, one or more class action groups, etc. In particular,the system may be configured to identify a particular group from whichthe system receives particularly costly data subject access request(e.g., former and/or current employees, members of a particular socialgroup, members of a particular political group, etc.).

In particular embodiments, the system may be configured to utilize datasubject access request cost data when processing, assigning, and/orfulfilling future data subject access requests (e.g., from a particularidentified group, individual, etc.). For example, the system may beconfigured to prioritize requests that are expected to be less costlyand time-consuming (e.g., based on past cost data) over requestsidentified as being likely more expensive. Alternatively, the system mayprioritize more costly and time-consuming requests over less costly onesin the interest of ensuring that the system is able to respond to eachrequest in a reasonable amount of time (e.g., within a time required bylaw, such as a thirty day period, or any other suitable time period).

Customer Satisfaction Integration with Data Subject Access Requests

In various embodiments, the system may be configured to collect customersatisfaction data, for example: (1) as part of a data subject accessrequest submission form; (2) when providing one or more results of adata subject access request to the data subject; or (3) at any othersuitable time. In various embodiments, the customer satisfaction datamay be collected in the form of a suitable survey, free-form responsequestionnaire, or other suitable satisfaction data collection format(e.g., thumbs up vs. thumbs down, etc.).

FIG. 49 depicts an exemplary customer satisfaction survey that may beincluded as part of a data subject access request form, provided alongwith the results of a data subject access request, provided in one ormore messages confirming receipt of a data subject access request, etc.As shown in the figure, the customer satisfaction survey may relate tohow likely a customer (e.g., a data subject) is to recommend the company(e.g., to which the data subject has submitted the request) to a friend(e.g., or colleague). In the example shown in FIG. 49, the satisfactionsurvey may relate to a Net Promoter score (NPS), which may indicate aloyalty of a company's customer relationships. Generally speaking, theNet Promoter Score may measure a loyalty that exists between a providerand a consumer. In various embodiments, the provider may include acompany, employer, or any other entity. In particular embodiments, theconsumer may include a customer, employee, or other respondent to an NPSsurvey.

In particular embodiments, the question depicted in FIG. 49 is theprimary question utilized in calculating a Net Promoter Score (e.g.,“how likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/serviceto a friend or colleague?”). In particular embodiments, the question ispresented with responses ranging from 0 (not at all likely) to 10(extremely likely). In particular embodiments, the question may includeany other suitable scale. As may be understood from FIG. 49, the systemmay be configured to assign particular categories to particular ratingson the 10 point scale. The system may be configured to track and storeresponses provided by consumers and calculate an overall NPS score forthe provider. The system may be further configured to generate a visualrepresentation of the NPS score, including a total number of responsesreceived for each particular score and category as shown in FIG. 49.

In various embodiments, the system may be configured to measure datarelated to any other suitable customer satisfaction method (e.g., inaddition to NPS). By integrating a customer satisfaction survey with thedata subject access request process, the system may increase a number ofconsumers that provide one or more responses to the customersatisfaction survey. In particular embodiments, the system is configuredto require the requestor to respond to the customer satisfaction surveyprior to submitting the data subject access request.

Data Subject Access Request Compliance Portal

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to provide a datasubject access request compliance portal. In various embodiments, thedata subject access request compliance portal is configured to enable adata protection officer (e.g., controller or other individual taskedwith ensuring compliance, by an entity, with one or more legal orindustry standards related to the collection and/or processing ofpersonal data) to submit a request to audit an organization's (e.g.,entity's) compliance to data subject requests.

The system may, for example, be configured to: (1) enable the dataprotection officer to submit an audit request; (2) perform an auditbased on one or more parameters provided as part of the request (e.g.,one or more parameters such as how long an average request takes tofulfill, one or more parameters related to logging and/or tracking datasubject access requests and/or complaints from one or more particularcustomer advocacy groups, individuals, NGOs, etc.); and (3) provide oneor more audit results to the officer (e.g., by displaying the results ona suitable display screen). The system may, for example: (1) identifyone or more particular individuals that have submitted data subjectaccess requests as members of a particular group; and (2) process anaudit request related to the particular group by providing a listing ofthe one or more particular individuals. Similarly, the system maydetermine a number of requests that were not fulfilled within a timelymanner (e.g., by a particular deadline), required an extension of timeto fulfill, etc.

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to automaticallygenerate a report that includes one or more results of a complianceaudit using information maintained as part of the ticketing systemdescribed herein. For example, the system may be configured tosubstantially automatically analyze one or more data subject requeststhat the system has received (e.g., and that are pending, completed,rejected, or have any other suitable status) to determine whether thesystem (e.g., the organization) is complying with one or moreregulations related to responding to data subject access requests. Thismay, for example, include: (1) automatically determining whether thesystem has processed data subject access requests in a timely manner(e.g., prior to a deadline); (2) automatically determining whether thesystem has accurately fulfilled data subject access requests (e.g., byproviding the data, deleting the data, or taking any other requestedaction); etc.

In still other embodiments, the system is configured to log and trackone or more audit requests or complaints received from one or more thirdparty entities (e.g., one or more customer advocacy groups). The systemmay, for example, be configured to audit third party audit requests(e.g., in a manner similar to that described above) to ensure that auditrequests are disposed of (e.g., responded to, fulfilled, etc.) in atimely or accurate manner.

In various embodiments, the system may include a DSAR auditing systemand/or other systems for managing and auditing compliance withregulations related to data subject access requests. In operation, thesystem may use one or more computer processors, which are operativelycoupled to memory, to execute one or more software modules (which may beincluded in the Instructions 222 referenced above) such as a DSARCompliance Module 5000. An overview of the functionality and operationof this module is provided below.

Data Subject Access Request Compliance Module 5000

FIG. 50 depicts exemplary operations performed as part of a particularembodiment of a Data Subject Access Request Compliance Module 5000. Asmay be understood from FIG. 50, when executing the DSAR ComplianceModule 5000, the system begins at Step 5010, by providing a data subjectaccess request compliance portal.

Continuing to Step 5020, the system is configured to receive a request,via the DSAR compliance portal, to audit a particular entity'scompliance with one or more data subject access request requirements. Inparticular embodiments, the one or more data subject access requestrequirements may, for example, relate to: (1) one or more deadlines forresponding to DSARs; (2) one or more reporting requirements relating toDSARs; (3) one or more sufficiency requirements related to the responseto one or more DSARs; (4) one or more legal or industry regulationsrelated to DSARs (e.g., such as any suitable legal or industryregulation recited herein; (5) one or more regulations related to anavailability of one or more extensions for responding to DSARs; and/or(6) any other suitable requirement.

In particular embodiments, the audit request received at Step 5020 mayinclude one or more request parameters. The one or more parameters mayinclude, for example: (1) a request to audit a particular group ofindividuals; (2) a request to audit a particular entity, organization,sub-group within an organization, etc. for compliance with one or moreregulations related to the processing and response to one or more datasubject access requests; (3) etc.

Continuing to Step 5030, the system is configured to perform the auditbased on one or more parameters provided as part of the request (e.g., atype of audit request). The system may, for example: (1) identify one ormore particular individuals that have submitted data subject accessrequests as members of a particular group; and (2) process an auditrequest related to the particular group by providing a listing of theone or more particular individuals. Similarly, the system may determinea number of requests that were not fulfilled within a timely manner(e.g., by a particular deadline), required an extension of time tofulfill, etc.

Returning to Step 5040, the system is configured to provide one or oreaudit results to a privacy officer or other individual. In particularembodiments, the system is configured to automatically generate a reportthat includes one or more results of a compliance audit usinginformation maintained as part of the ticketing system described herein.For example, the system may be configured to substantially automaticallyanalyze one or more data subject requests that the system has received(e.g., and that are pending, completed, rejected, or have any othersuitable status) to determine whether the system (e.g., theorganization) is complying with one or more regulations related toresponding to data subject access requests. This may, for example,include: (1) automatically determining whether the system has processeddata subject access requests in a timely manner (e.g., prior to adeadline); (2) automatically determining whether the system hasaccurately fulfilled data subject access requests (e.g., by providingthe data, deleting the data, or taking any other requested action); etc.

In still other embodiments, the system is configured to log and trackone or more audit requests or complaints received from one or more thirdparty entities (e.g., one or more customer advocacy groups). The systemmay, for example, be configured to audit third party audit requests(e.g., in a manner similar to that described above) to ensure that auditrequests are disposed of (e.g., responded to, fulfilled, etc.) in atimely or accurate manner.

CONCLUSION

Although embodiments above are described in reference to various datasubject access fulfillment systems, it should be understood that variousaspects of the system described above may be applicable to otherprivacy-related systems, or to other types of systems, in general.

While this specification contains many specific embodiment details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments may also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment may also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems maygenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products. In addition, it should beunderstood that terms such as “in some embodiments”, “in variousembodiments”, and “in certain embodiments” are intended to indicate thatthe stated features may be implemented in any suitable embodimentdescribed herein.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for the purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A privacy management computer system for auditingone or more responses to one or more data subject access requestsreceived by a particular entity, the system comprising: one or morecomputer processors; and computer memory operatively coupled to the oneor more processors, wherein the one or more computer processors areadapted for: receiving a plurality of data subject access requests via aplurality of webforms on respective computing devices from a pluralityof data subject access requestors; automatically determining a type ofeach data subject access request, the determined type of data subjectaccess request being selected from a group consisting of: (1) a requestto delete personal data of the requestor that is being stored by aparticular organization; (2) a request to provide, to the requestor,personal data of the requestor that is being stored by the particularorganization; (3) a request to update personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by the particular organization; and (4) a requestto opt out of having the particular organization use the requestor'spersonal information in one or more particular ways; determining, basedat least partially on the determined type of each data subject accessrequest, a workflow that is to be used to process each request;facilitating the processing of each of the plurality of data subjectaccess requests via the workflow; providing a data subject accessrequest compliance portal; receiving an audit request, via the datasubject access request compliance portal, to audit compliance, by theparticular entity with one or more data subject access requestrequirements, the audit request comprising one or more requestparameters; perform the audit based on the one or more requestparameters; generate a report of one or more results of the audit; andprovide the report to a privacy officer associated with the particularentity.
 2. The privacy management computer system of claim 1, whereinthe workflow is a workflow for validating the identity of an individualbefore the system facilitates completion of the data subject accessrequest.
 3. The privacy management computer system of claim 1, whereinthe workflow is a workflow that specifies, based at least partially onthe determined type of each data subject access request, that the systemwill facilitate at least a partial manual processing of at least aparticular data subject access request of the plurality of data subjectaccess requests.
 4. The privacy management computer system of claim 1,wherein: the one or more data subject access request requirementscomprise a respective time constraint for responding to each of theplurality of data subject access requests.
 5. The privacy managementcomputer system of claim 4, wherein: the one or more request parameterscomprise one or more parameters related to a timing of the processing ofeach of the plurality of data subject access requests; and performingthe audit comprises analyzing the timing of the processing of each ofthe plurality of data subject access requests and comprising theanalysis to each respective time constraint.
 6. The privacy managementcomputer system of claim 1, wherein: the one or more request parameterscomprise one or more parameters related to a particular group of datasubjects; and performing the audit comprises: analyzing the plurality ofdata subject access requestors to identify one or more members of theparticular group of data subjects; identifying particular associateddata subject access requests of the plurality of data subject accessrequests that are associated with the one or more members of theparticular group of data subjects; and analyzing the particularassociated data subject access request to determine a compliance levelwith the one or more data subject access request requirements.
 7. Theprivacy management computer system of claim 1, wherein performing theaudit comprises: analyzing the plurality of data subject accessrequestors to identify a particular group associated with at least aparticular number of the plurality of data subject access requestors;and generate the report to include the identified particular group.
 8. Acomputer-implemented data processing method for receiving andfacilitating the processing of data subject access requests andsubsequently auditing a plurality of processed data subject accessrequests, the method comprising: receiving, by at least one computerprocessor, a data subject access request from a data subject accessrequestor; automatically determining, by at least one computerprocessor, a type of the data subject access request, the determinedtype of data subject access request being selected from a groupconsisting of: (1) a request to delete personal data of the requestorthat is being stored by a particular organization; (2) a request toprovide, to the requestor, personal data of the requestor that is beingstored by the particular organization; (3) a request to update personaldata of the requestor that is being stored by the particularorganization; and (4) a request to opt out of having the particularorganization use the requestor's personal information in one or moreparticular ways; determining, by at least one processor, based at leastpartially on the determined type of data subject access request, aworkflow that is to be used to process the request; after determiningthe workflow, facilitating, by at least one processor, the processing ofthe request via the computer-implemented workflow; providing a datasubject access request compliance portal; receiving an audit request,via the data subject access request compliance portal, to auditcompliance, by the particular organization with one or more data subjectaccess request requirements, the audit request comprising one or morerequest parameters; perform the audit based on the one or more requestparameters; generate a report of one or more results of the audit; andprovide the report to a privacy officer associated with the particularorganization.
 9. The computer-implemented data processing method ofclaim 8, wherein the computer-implemented workflow is a workflow forvalidating the identity of an individual.
 10. The computer-implementeddata processing method of claim 9, wherein the computer-implementedmethod further comprises analyzing a timing of the plurality ofprocessed data subject access requests.
 11. The computer-implementeddata processing method of claim 10, wherein the one or more data subjectaccess request requirements comprise a respective time constraint forresponding to each of the plurality of processed data subject accessrequests.
 12. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim11, wherein performing the audit comprises analyzing the timing of theprocessing of each of the plurality of processed data subject accessrequests and comprising the analysis to each respective time constraint.13. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 11, whereinperforming the audit comprises analyzing each of the plurality ofprocessed data subject access requests to identify whether anyparticular data subject access request of the plurality of processeddata subject access requests utilized one or more time extensions duringprocessing.
 14. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim13, further comprising: in response to determining that a particulardata subject access request of the plurality of processed data subjectaccess requests utilized the one or more time extensions duringprocessing, modifying the report of one or more results of the audit.15. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 8, whereinperforming the audit comprises determining, for each of the plurality ofprocessed data subject access requests, whether the processing wassubstantially automatic or required at least a partial manualprocessing.
 16. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim8, the method further comprising: receiving a complaint from the datasubject access requestor regarding the processing of the data subjectaccess request; and in response to receiving the complaint, modifyingthe report of one or more results of the audit.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 16, wherein theworkflow is a workflow that specifies, based at least partially on thedetermined type of data subject access request, that the system willfacilitate at least a partial manual processing of the data subjectaccess request.
 18. The computer-implemented data processing method ofclaim 17, wherein the workflow is a computer-implemented workflow forautomatically deleting at least substantially all of the personal datafor the requestor on one or more computer systems of the particularorganization.
 19. The computer-implemented data processing method ofclaim 18, wherein performing the audit comprises scanning the one ormore computer systems of the particular organization using one or moreintelligent identity scanning means to identify at least one piece ofpersonal data associated with the requestor that is stored on the one ormore computer systems of the particular organization.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 8, whereinperforming the audit comprises analyzing a plurality of open datasubject access requests to determine, for each of the plurality of opendata subject access requests, a number of days remaining before arespective deadline for responding.